'Emile Short Is Not CHRAJ'

Justice Francis Emile Short is the Commissioner of Human Rights and Administrative Justice in Ghana (CHRAJ)

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday June 18, 2010
Coalition of Democratic Forces (CDF), a pressure group says the decision by the Human Rights Court to stop the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) from investigating Mabey and Johnson bribery scandal in which some senior officials of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been hauled before the commission is an ‘aberration’.

“We find Justice U.P. Derry’s judgement a total aberration and a curious interpretation of the law,” the CDF said in a statement issued in Accra and jointly signed by Marlon Anipa, Michael Omari-Wadie, and Nana Prempeh Agyemang.

The Human Rights Court had asked CHRAJ to stop the investigations into the Mabey and Johnson scandal because the officials mentioned in the scandal complained to the court that the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Justice Francis Emile Short had made statements on a Metro TV programme and those statements had the tendency to prejudice the Commission’s investigations into the matter.

But the CDF disagreed with the court’s decision saying “we did not know that suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, CHRAJ is now equal to Justice Emile Short. The last time we checked Justice Emile Short was on working sabbatical elsewhere for years whiles CHRAJ as an institution continued its work with Ms Anna Bossman as Acting Commissioner. So why throw away our case even if it is true that Commissioner Justice Emile Short erred?”

“We of the CDF are aware of the machinations of the current NDC administration who are placing bottlenecks in this matter at every twist and turn. We have hitherto called for all, including the current NDC government, to "hands off" the work of CHRAJ, but it appears our calls have fallen on deaf ears. We can assure Ghanaians that we of the CDF will not let the Mabey and Johnson investigation pale into oblivion. It could not be gotten rid of through some bizarre legal technicalities.

We will continue to insist on a CHRAJ public enquiry, as an enquiry will serve as an eye-opener to all public officials who think they can take our country for a ride.”
“Again, we of the CDF will not stand aloof and see the collapse of the rule of law in our beloved country Ghana. We have faith in the judiciary and reaffirm our faith in the courts including the Human Rights Court presided over by Justice Derry.”

“CDF, by this statement wants to state categorically and without any equivocation, that we do not intend to take this matter to the SFO as we are being advised by some quarters to do, nor are we calling for a presidential enquiry. Rather, we will await the measures currently being undertaken by CHRAJ, after which we will look at our options.”

“We of the CDF seek to send a strong message to our politicians, Ministers and businessmen that corruption will no longer be tolerated in high places. We wish to let them know that corruption does not pay and no matter how long it takes any corrupt official will be hounded and will one day face the full rigours of the law,” the statement said.

“That is why we brought the officials and politicians involved in the Mabey and Johnson bribery case to CHRAJ. We brought the case before CHRAJ. We need to emphasise again that the matter was brought before CHRAJ - an institution for administration of justice. CDF did not bring the case before Justice Emile Short.”

“In our view, it is one thing receiving a bribe but quite another, dealing with the allegation in a mature way. It is for this reason and that alone, that we take note of Peter Lloyd’s, (Mabey & Johnson's new managing director) statement, when he said: ‘We deeply regret the past conduct of our company, and we have committed to making a fresh start, wiping the slate clean of these offences’."

It said the landmark ruling of the Southwark Crown Court is of such magnitude that the Mabey & Johnson bribery scandal will simply not go away no matter how irritating some people, including unfortunately the current NDC administration, may find it.

“The Mabey and Johnson judgement is an innovation in English jurisprudence. It also marks a watershed to the rather dim and obsolete way of dealing with cases of corruption involving poor African countries and multi-national companies with the covert connivance of local agents typically local African businessmen, politicians and high ranking civil servants.”

The M&J scandal involves six current and former government appointees including former Finance Minister, Kwame Peprah; Alhaji Baba Kamara, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria; former Minister of State at the Office of the President, Alhaji Amadu Seidu; Dr Ato Quarshie, a former Minister of Roads and Highways, who allegedly received the largest chunk of the bribe money; former Water Resources, Works and Housing Minister.

The rest are Alhaji Saddique Boniface former Minister of Works and Housing in the Kufuor Administration; former Minister of Health, Dr. George Adja-Sipa Yankey; and Edward Lord Attivor, currently Acting Managing Director of Intercity STC. He was Board chairman of STC at the time he allegedly took the M&J bribe.

Also see: www.dailyguideghana.com